Where does “pillage” come from?
Pillage comes from Old French pillage, derived from Old French piller, which developed from Latin pilio and pilo, ultimately traceable to Latin pilum meaning a javelin or stake.
pillage (English): To loot or plunder by force, especially in time...
Definitions
- To loot or plunder by force, especially in time...
Ancestry of “pillage”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | pillage | pillaging |
| 2 | Old French | piller | Alternative form of pillier; pillage; plunder |
| 3 | Latin | piliō | — |
| 4 | Latin | pilō | to put forth hairs, grow hairy |
| 5 | Latin | pila | mortar; pillar; pier |
| 6 | Latin | pīlus | a hair |
| 7 | Latin | pīlum | a pounder, pestle |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | pistlom | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pis-tlo- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | peys- | to grind, to crush |